Certified Nurse Midwives (CNM)

Kristin Giroux is a Faculty Associate and Certified Nurse-Midwife in the Department of OB/GYN at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center at El Paso. Ms. Giroux received her Bachelor's Degree in International Relations and Latin American Studies from Boston University and her Master of Science in Nurse-Midwifery and Women's Health Nurse Practitioner from University of California San Francisco School of Nursing where she completed a fellowship in Adolescent Health. She is certified by the American Midwifery Certification Board and the National Certification Corporation. Ms. Giroux is passionate about providing full spectrum midwifery care to all populations, and has a special interest in working with adolescents, immigrant populations, and survivors of sexual and intimate partner violence.  

Ms. Skrinak received her bachelor's degree in environmental engineering in 2008 from The Ohio State University. She worked as a community health educator in Columbus, Ohio before returning to graduate school. She received her Master of Science in Nursing from The Ohio State University in 2014. Ms. Skrinak is certified by the American Midwifery Certification Board as well as the National Certification Corporation. She has volunteered to provide support to survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence for many years. As an Albert Schweitzer Fellow in 2013, she developed and implemented sexual violence prevention programs for grade schools, colleges, community organizations, and juvenile detention centers. Ms. Skrinak chose the nurse midwife profession because she believes that increased access to reproductive health care services improves the status and lives of women. She is especially dedicated to caring for women living on the border, teenagers, individuals who are incarcerated, and people who identify as LGBT.

Mr. Valenzuela is a native of Lima, Peru. He received his Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 1992 and his Master of Science in Nursing in 2003 from Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Before joining the team of midwives at TTUHSC El Paso, Mr. Valenzuela practiced as a certified nurse midwife in Florida, Wisconsin, and New Mexico. He is certified by the American Midwifery Certification Board. His experience prior to obtaining his certification as a nurse midwife includes intermediate ICU-ER trauma and labor and delivery in Florida and Wisconsin. Mr. Valenzuela is very passionate about providing care to women throughout their life span and is particularly interested in providing care to women on the border. Mr. Valenzuela's areas of interest include gestational diabetes, chronic hypertension, and preeclampsia.

Anna Nellikappallil received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from West Texas A&M University in 2011 and her Master of Science in Nurse-Midwifery from Frontier Nursing University in 2017. Ms. Nellikappallil is a certified neonatal resuscitation program provider. Prior to joining the team of certified nurse midwives at TTUHSC El Paso, Ms. Nellikappallil practiced as a student nurse midwife at William Beaumont Army Medical Center and The Women’s Specialists of Houston. Prior to her pursuit of her advanced degree, she worked as a nurse for six years in women’s inpatient health to include antepartum, mother-baby, gynecology, and gynecology oncology. Ms. Nellikappallil is dedicated to providing compassionate care that is unique to each individual woman and family’s needs. She is very passionate about education and empowering the woman to be the informed decision-maker for her health care.